An “Ever Better” Constitution? Progressivism as Ideology and the U.S. Constitution
As a document written in the 1700’s, all the framers of the U.S. Constitution as well as their immediate relatives, friends, and colleagues are now deceased. We…
Beyond Free Speech and Propaganda: The Political Development of Hollywood, 1907–1927
The Politics of Depoliticization Motion pictures do more than just reflect our political life. If we take seriously the cultural construction of human identity—how social life forges…
On the Importance of Being a Wayfarer
Walker Percy’s various writings contain several puzzles: How did his philosophical essays relate to his novels? What did he intend to accomplish with his theory of language?…
Walker Percy in the Ruins: A Conversation with Brian Smith
Brian Smith discusses discusses his recently published book, Walker Percy and the Politics of the Wayfarer,with in his interview with Richard M. Reinsch II of Liberty Law Talk.…
Cowboy Politics: Myths and Discourses in Popular Westerns from The Virginian to Unforgiven and Deadwood
As a popular genre, the western makes myths for politics in America and beyond. These symbolic stories of characters and communities help shape and explain our government,…
Review of Cowboy Politics: Myths and Discourses in Popular Westerns form The Virginian to Unforgiven and Deadwood
Cowboy Politics: Myths and Discourses in Popular Westerns form The Virginian to Unforgiven and Deadwood. John S. Nelson. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2018. What do Westerns…
Romanticism and Civilization: Love, Marriage, and Justice in Rousseau’s Julie
La Nouvelle Héloïse is the most influential novel ever written. It shares with the Social Contract the honor of inspiring the French Revolution and, to a lesser…
Understanding Love and Marriage with Rousseau
I like slim volumes of pith and punch. Mark Kremer’s little study, Romanticism and Civilization: Love, Marriage, and Family in Rousseau’s Julie, is both. Its bold thesis…
Politics, Hollywood Style
Why and How Political Films Matter[1] Do films serve purposes besides entertainment? Stephenson and Debrix point out that “Film brings us face to face with reality, or…
Review of Politics, Hollywood Style
Politics, Hollywood Style: American Politics in Film from Mr. Smith to Selma. John Heyrman. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2017. John Heyrman’s Politics, Hollywood Style: American Politics…
The Pursuit of Happiness and the American Regime
Understanding the American Pursuit of Happiness Happiness is now the serious study of human well-being. As the study of happiness becomes more serious and exact, happiness researchers…
Review of The Pursuit of Happiness and the American Regime
The Pursuit of Happiness and the American Regime: Political Theory in Literature. Elizabeth Amato. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2018. In a time marked by enormous economic…
Gardening and Nobility in Tolkien
In his Letters, Tolkien often mentions working in his garden. He was a keen plantsman: "I am in fact a Hobbit (in all but size). I like…
Civil Servants on the Silver Screen
The Intersection of Film and Government It is hard to know why a particular film and its initial viewing makes such an impression on us and it…
Seeing Through the Screen: Interpreting American Political Film
Understanding Political Films In choosing movies to include in this book, we had to start by asking what makes a film political. This seemingly simple question has…